5 Jason Isbell solo songs that Drive-By Truckers fans should love

Drive-By Truckers have been one of the few bands in rock history lucky enough to have three of the genre’s greatest songwriters in their ranks at one time. Front and center are Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, the band’s respective father and cool uncle, each with his own take on the poetry of failure. Between 2001 and 2007, they were flanked by Jason Isbell, a prodigiously talented guitarist who specialized in oddly specific history lessons on topics like The Band and regional Southern folklore.

As good as “Danko/Manuel” and “The Day John Henry Died” are, though, many Truckers loyalists have bemoaned the non-specificity of Isbell’s solo work with his new band, The 400 Unit. In the band’s three albums (Sirens Of The Ditch, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, and the new Here We Rest ) the songs are decidedly highly polished and strongly constructed pop songs accessible to anyone, regardless of taste. For those ardent Hood rats and Cooley birds, though, here are five Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit songs that wouldn’t sound out of place on any Truckers album.

“Dress Blues” from Sirens Of The Ditch
This is one of the best songs Isbell has ever written, and probably one of the best he ever will. It’s one of those songs that can overcome a listener in the right state of mind. In what could be an alternate-history take on “The War” by Lucero, “Dress Blues” is about a man talking to the body of a soldier about his own funeral, taking place only about a week before he was to finish his tour of duty.

“Seven-Mile Island” from Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
The A.V. Club’s a sucker for track ones, and “Seven-Mile Island” is no exception to the rule. This song could very well be the most Southern-sounding song Isbell’s made, and the dude’s from Alabama. It’s a percussive, backwoods tale about a man who ends it all when he decides he’s not cut out for rearing a child with a woman who’s caught between motherhood and a good time, a theme that seems to recur in a lot of Truckers songs.

“Alabama Pines” from Here We Rest
This song tells those who complained about Isbell no longer being region-specific to get fucked. The lyrics name-check several cities, as well as Wayne’s, which according to the lyrics, is the only liquor store open in North Alabama on a Sunday. Sonically, it has a kind of Ryan Adams drag to it, kind of like a Dixieland version of “Oh My Sweet Carolina.” Roll tide indeed.

“Go It Alone” from Here We Rest
The second track on Here We Rest might be the closest thing to Isbell’s work in the Truckers that he has made to date. It sounds like it could be a postscript to A Blessing And A Curse’s “Easy On Yourself,” a bittersweet, coming-back-home ending to a song about being a townie.

“Codeine” from Here We Rest
It might seem like a stretch to choose three songs from Here We Rest, but this song is an interesting part of Isbell’s catalog. It’s the only song that could feasibly come out of Hood’s mouth, as well. “Codeine” is one of the most painful breakup songs in recent memory, chronicling a self-destructive couple as they try to medicate their way through their dissolution.

Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit play the High Noon May 27.